Black History Month
Black History Month 2022
Our Work in Classes
Across school we celebrated Black History month, the children have looked at Black Authors in their reading sessions. EYFS looked at a book called ‘We Are All Different' and then discussed how they are all different, but we treat everybody we meet with respect and kindness. They then read the story of Elmer and talked about what differences they have in their class, but despite our differences we celebrate each other and are all friends supporting each other.
In Year 1, they looked at the story of Elma the elephant and recognised that everyone is different and began to learn about empathy. They looked at each other and recognised differences. The key learning was that the children understand it is ok to be different. They designed their own animal, which was different to their partners.
Year 2 have been learning about what is meant by the term racism and how black people have been treated in the past. Then they discussed what they can do to improve the future to ensure everyone is treated equally and fairly. Next, they read four different books about significant black people and looked at what made them significant. Finally, they created a display celebrating them and their achievements.
In Year 3, they went through the Primary Stars materials and discussed racism, inclusion and solidarity. They talked about how racism can make someone feel and what impact it might have on somebody and made posters against racism for display. They're also reading a few end of day books: The Queen of Jazz, Coming to England, and Our Story starts in Africa.
In Year 4 they began by finding out about the British author and poet Benjamin Zephaniah. He is the son of Caribbean immigrants to the UK and they read a poem of his about the Empire Windrush, a ship that brought people from the Caribbean and elsewhere to the UK. We find out about its journey and what life was like for the people that decided to leave their homes and start a new life in the UK. They then wrote a diary entry as one of the 'Windrush generation'.
In year 5 they have learnt about and read stories by Kereen Getten, the author who features in the book 'Happy Here'. They made fact files and learnt that her mission was to write stories about her origin in the Caribbean as nobody heard or wanted these stories when she was growing up.
Year 6 discussed segregation and some of the problems faced by African Americans and others in the 1960s and 1970s. They then discussed key individuals who challenged the unfair laws such as Rosa Parks and MLK. Ultimately leading to the 1968 Civil Rights Act. They focused on Muhammad Ali and learned about his efforts to create a fair society, creating a factual account of his life.
The Cow Foot Prince
The children in EYFS, Year 1, 2 and 3 listened to a story called The Cow Foot Prince. The Cow Foot Prince follows Usifu Jalloa, a Sierra Leonean story teller, from his adopted home in London back to the village where he was born, exploring the life long complexities of immigration. Through the transformative power of African story telling, Usifu, The Cow Foot Prince, transported pupils around the world on a journey of learning and fun. They learnt about African culture and heritage as well as the value of embracing diverse cultures through music, dance and song. Here is a clip if you want to watch at home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQXpvHYLLqU
No Room for Racism
The Premier League is committed to ending racism in football and our wider society. In our PSHE lessons as part of Black History Month, we ensure we use their materials to teach the children about the negative impacts of racism and what we can do to tackle it.
The children watched some films to hear from professional football players who celebrate cultural diversity in the game. The lessons enabled the children to learn about the differences between race and ethnicity, what it means to be an ally and what we can do to end racism.
The Primary Stars resources have been made with the support of BBC Own It.
We also watched a clip featured on Blue Peter, which is good to repeat with your children at home:
https://twitter.com/CBeebiesHQ/status/1271438991041212417